The present invention relates to an electronics module comprising a substrate and at least one electronic power component that needs cooling. A particularly important, although non-exclusive, application of the invention lies in the field of motor vehicle electronics where some systems incorporate power components, e.g. coils or capacitors, which generate large amounts of heat in operation and which are located in a high-temperature environment.
The invention relates more particularly to a module comprising a metal substrate having one face that is insulated and that carries electrical connection tracks, with at least one power component fixed to the substrate and having junction tabs soldered to the tracks. Such substrates are now in use where the face is insulated by forming an insulating layer, e.g. by oxidizing, nitriding, or anodizing. Until now, the components have usually been mounted on the insulated face side of the substrate, and this does not give rise to any problem for components that are thin and that dissipate little heat. In contrast, mounting power components on this face, opposite from the non-insulated face against which a cooling fluid is caused to circulate, gives rise to a considerable increase in the size of the module.